Comparing

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəmˈpɛə.ɹɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Looking at two or more things to identify their likenesses and differences
2. Considering multiple objects or ideas side by side to note how they are alike or unlike
3. Evaluating various elements in relation to each other to understand their commonalities and distinctions

Etymology: "Comparing" is the present participle of "compare", so its history is that of the verb. The verb reached English from Old French "comparer", which came from Latin "comparare", meaning "to prepare" or "to procure". That sense is easy to miss today: the Latin root was "compar", "like or equal to another", built from "com-" ("together") and "par" ("equal"). The idea behind the Latin verb was therefore putting things side by side so they could be matched up. English already had a word for the activity before this borrowing arrived. Old English "metan", meaning "to measure", was used for comparing as well, and the French-derived verb displaced it. The word's older core, then, was closer to measuring than to noticing resemblances, and the Latin "equal" in its root still points back to that sense of checking one thing against another.

Synonyms: contrasting, evaluating, assessing, juxtaposing, analyzing

Antonyms: ignoring, neglecting, overlooking, disregarding, separating